Abstract: The self-assembly of engineered peptides and proteins has become a prominent strategy for creating biomaterials. Advantages of these systems include precise compositional definition, control over topology and nanostructure, and the ability to combine multiple different functional components in a modular way. Peptide and protein assemblies are also capable of strongly engaging the immune system, but relatively few design rules exist for exploiting this immunogenicity (for example to create chemically defined vaccines) or for avoiding it (for example in tissue repair or cell delivery). Previously, we showed that a short fibrillizing peptide, Q11, was capable of assembling fused peptide epitopes or ligands into nanofibers, and that immune responses to these materials could be strongly modulated. In this talk, the continuing development of these materials towards 3D cell culture, cell delivery, and vaccines will be highlighted. Recent progress to be discussed includes the design of hydrolytically degradable peptide self-assemblies, self-assemblies bearing precise stoichiometries of whole protein ligands and antigens, and investigations into these materials mechanism of immunogenicity.

Bio: Joel H. Collier, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago, appointed in the Department of Surgery, the Committee on Molecular Medicine, and the Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences. His research focuses on self-assembling biomaterials systems and how they may be engineered for a variety of purposes including vaccines, 3D cell culture, and cell delivery. He received his undergraduate degree in Materials Science from Rice University and his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. He has been in the Surgery Department at the University of Chicago since 2007. He sits on several advisory and editorial boards and has won several awards, including the 2012 Distinguished Junior Investigator in the University of Chicagos Biological Sciences Division. His work is currently supported by NIH, NSF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other agencies.

All seminars are held on Wednesdays from 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m. in the Bowen Hall Auditorium Room 222. A light lunch is provided at 11:30 a.m. in the Bowen Hall Atrium immediately prior to the seminar.